Prescriptions for common heart drug rise as patients, celebrities and clinicians turn to beta blockers for anxiety

Prescriptions for beta blockers such as propranolol have climbed as clinicians and patients increasingly use the drugs off-label to treat anxiety, industry data and clinicians say.

Global prescription volume for propranolol rose about 28% from 2020, according to IQVIA data cited by The Wall Street Journal, a trend clinicians attribute to demand for a medication that reduces the physical symptoms of anxiety such as racing heart, trembling and breathlessness.

Propranolol and other beta-adrenergic blockers were first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1967 for cardiovascular conditions including high blood pressure. They work by blocking adrenergic receptors, which blunts the effects of adrenaline and typically lowers heart rate and blood pressure. Clinicians say that dampening these physical responses can ease the somatic features of anxiety, particularly situational and performance-related anxiety.

Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist and founder of the Amen Clinics in California, told Fox News Digital that beta blockers "calm the body’s stress response" and can be effective when behavioral techniques do not fully control symptoms. "When your body thinks you’re under attack, beta blockers help quiet the ‘false alarms’ going off in your nervous system," he said, adding that the drugs do not sedate or cloud thinking and do not produce cravings or withdrawal in the way some other anti-anxiety medications can.

Celebrity discussions of beta blockers have raised public awareness. Actress Rachel Sennott advised peers on the Academy Awards red carpet to "take that beta blocker," and television personality Paige DeSorbo has spoken publicly about using a beta blocker to manage a panic attack while on tour, saying that taking the medication allowed her to perform.

Clinicians continue to recommend nonpharmacologic strategies as first-line approaches for anxiety. Amen and other psychiatrists cited in media accounts say they start with techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing, meditation and mindfulness, and reserve beta blockers for patients whose physical symptoms persist despite these interventions or for acute, performance-related episodes.

Medical guidance emphasizes that beta blockers are not appropriate for everyone. People with asthma, certain forms of heart disease, or diabetes may face increased risks or require different formulations; clinicians advise medical review before starting treatment. Common side effects can include fatigue and lightheadedness, which often lessen over time. Physicians caution against abruptly stopping daily beta blocker therapy because sudden discontinuation can provoke rebound symptoms; tapering under medical supervision is recommended.

Beyond anxiety management, beta blockers remain standard treatments for hypertension, certain heart rhythm disorders, migraine prevention and essential tremor. Their growing use for anxiety reflects both clinicians' and patients' interest in a medication that targets the physiological aspects of stress without the addictive properties of some anxiolytics.

Experts say further research is needed to define best practices for off-label use specific to anxiety disorders, including which patients are most likely to benefit and for how long such treatment should be continued. For individual medical advice, clinicians recommend consulting a health care provider to balance potential benefits and risks.